Pacific Southwest Research Station

Tools to Evaluate and Track Benefits of Stream Restoration

This project will inventory and evaluate current and completed stream restoration projects in the Lake Tahoe basin to determine consistent ways to define and evaluate project benefits and lessons, develop conceptual models, and refine rapid assessment tools. The synthesis will document the state of knowledge, assumptions, and approaches for stream and meadow restoration over the past 20 years, as well as key successes and failures from these efforts. The principal investigator will collaborate with resource managers through a technical advisory committee to develop conceptual models and an associated process-oriented approach for evaluating the intended benefits of stream restoration efforts.

Full Title: A comprehensive integration of past stream restoration efforts and future tools to evaluate and track the multitude of benefits by stream and meadows in the Lake Tahoe basin

Proposal [pdf]

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Lead Researchers: Nicole Beck, 2NDNATURE LLC

Goals
Recommend tools and a framework to monitor and track the effectiveness of stream and meadow restoration projects for multiple benefits, considering two categories of evaluation:

1. Rapid assessment methods to be conducted every 1 to 3 years.
2. More complex and costly evaluations that can be completed over a long term in conjunction with research.

Timeframe: August 2008 through December 31, 2009 (1.5 years)

Products

1. Inventory of information and data on stream restoration efforts and monitoring plan
2. Conceptual models of stream restoration
3. Rapid assessment methodology and long-term parameters for evaluating stream restoration projects
4. Technical report detailing development of products and integration into agency plans